Welcome to the inaugural issue of Instant Cinefessions, a weekly column where Ashe Collins runs down the latest additions to the Netflix Instant Queue service. This column is filled with reviews, recommendations, and more, all available on the Netflix Instant Queue service. Issue 00 – In the Beginning…

Most of the movies and TV series I watch come from my Netflix Instant Queue. It has been my go to for over five years now. I like to use it to find hidden gems, but not everyone wants to commit two hours of their free time to a decent looking movie poster. I’ve watched a ton of garbage over the years, but have missed even more, so there’s always something I want to watch, whether it’s revisiting an old favorite, or finally catching something I missed over the years. Instant Cinefessions will list some weekly recommendations based on what’s new on the Netflix service. It will also include my “Pull List”, which are films I’m interested in watching in the coming weeks. Look for reviews of the movies in my pull list in future columns.

Ashe’s Seal of ApprovalThese are the latest films that hit Netflix that get my seal of approval. A lot of titles released this past week so I’ve broken it down a little bit.

Ashe’s Picks of the WeekSo what did I watch off Netflix this week? I didn’t have a pull list, so this is all sorts of random.

First up, I re-watched the 1953 version of The War of the Worlds. The last time I’d seen it was in the ‘80s off the local UHF channel, and I was itching to see it again. For 1950s sci-fi, it’s not terrible. Surprisingly enough, it tells a more complete story than the 2005 re-imagining featuring Tom Cruise, and I actually liked most of the characters. The model work was great, but you can tell they’re using models for a number of shots. It’s still fun if you’re into that 1950s sci-fi aesthetic.

Next up was Comforting Skin, which is kind of hard to categorize, and was even harder to make sense of. A lonely woman who’s trying to work through some severe issues gets a tattoo that starts talking to her, and, well, getting intimate with her. It’s definitely some kind of horror film, but hard to really nail down. It’s slow paced and well-acted, but meandered way too much for my liking.

I decided to watch Triple Dog because it was classified as a thriller. It’s not. It’s a teen coming-of-age flick about a group of girls who really don’t like each other much, but are friends anyway. They have a birthday party that goes way overboard. They play a twisted version of Truth or Dare where you have to do the stunt someone asks or they shave your head. The stunts are mean-spirited and twisted. This is well done, but don’t go in thinking it’s a thriller.

I re-watched Arachnophobia and immediately wished I’d left that one alone. It’s hammy and can’t decide if it wants to be a serious horror film or a comedy, and it ends up being unfunny and completely lacking in any form of suspense unless you’re truly terrified of spiders. In that case, this film won’t help.

Lastly I watched Ragnarok, which was a lot of fun and had some great shots for what I’m assuming was a limited budget. This reeks of the way they shot Jaws and Jurassic Park as far as featuring the tension build up, but it keys into some of my favorite things which is reimagining myths and history. I definitely recommend this one if you like a slow burn in your creature films.

Make sure to check back later this week for more reviews and recommendations from the Netflix Instant Queue in Issue 01 of Instant Cinefessions!

Born the same year as Star Wars, it seems Ashe was destined to be into films with big impacts, explosions, and laser swords. With a love for sci-fi and horror, Ashe has a thing for games of both the tabletop and video variety. He is living a charmed, married life of sixteen years, along with several cats, a dog, and a bearded dragon. Ashe currently writes for Diehard Gamefan, covering video and tabletop games since 2008. Starting with Cinefessions just a few years ago, he has decided to tackle one of his original passions: film.